A heartwish
by worshipthehat
Summary: It's been months since the Arrietty said her goodbyes to Sho, now she might have found a way back...first fanfic, so please be nice
1. Chapter 1

**Hi folks, Happy New Year! I saw there were no Karigurashi no Arrietty fanfics, and I fell in love with the film (in Japanese ofc). So here it is! Hope youz Read and Review, and criticism will be welcome (although I will warm my tootsies with any flames).**

**P.S This is my first fanfic, so sorry it's a bit short. If youz like it, I shall try to update as often as possible.**

**P.P.S Ofc I don't own Karigurashi no Arrietty, it belongs to Studio Ghibli and the original characters to Mary Norton. I do, however, own the Lendwitch :)**

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><p>Chapter 1:<p>

Arrietty woke slowly and looked around - her parents were still fast asleep in the coconut shell they had found last month; stamps decorated the bare earth wall and thimbles hung out to dry after being used to make soup the night before. They were borrowers by nature and so everything in their little house was what Arrietty and her father Pod had picked up on their ventures, whether it was the electrical lamps her father loved to tinker with, to the plants she decorated her room with, or the sugar cubes her mother yearned for, they collected it all.

_It all used to be so easy when we lived with Shō and his Great Aunt, rather than out here in the middle of nowhere, _Arrietty thought. I'm_ grateful to Spiller for helping us escape, but I miss being an inside borrower. _As much as she enjoyed exploring the tree they lived under, she missed being in the old house with its ivy covered walls and garden. She missed the old lady who would wander around the house on her own and wouldn't bother them (or notice things going missing). Most of all she missed Shō….

_Except I'm going to solve that problem_, Arrietty thought as she dragged herself out of bed. Although she always wore it, she decided to wear her plain old red dress, leaving her flaming hair flowing past her shoulders. _I wonder if Shō still has my hairclip_ she mused, as she remembered their parting. A sudden tickling behind her nose reminded her that now was not the time to cry, now was the time to pack her bags and head out into the wild.

She had been preparing for weeks, ever since her mother had told her the old tale:

"Once in a while," she had said, "a Borrower has a wish: a wish that they cannot fulfill themselves. That is where the Lendwitch can help. It is said that she can only be found by a Borrower when they wish with all their heart to seek her. All you need to do is stand in the tallest branches of a tree, wish and she will appear. However, there is always a warning where the Lendwitch is concerned: she does not give, she lends, and wants something to ensure she gets her gift back."

As soon as she had heard about the Lendwitch, she knew what she must do. The only thing she needed was the courage to tell her parents where she was going, and in the end she wrote them a note:

_Dear Mother and Father, I have gone to find the Lendwitch. Don't worry. I'll be back soon. Love Arrietty xxx_

Arrietty knew they would be worried, but this was her hearts wish and she wanted to fulfil it. So she grabbed her small pack, left the note on the kitchen table and snuck out of the house.

She was off to find the Lendwitch.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hope youz liked the first Chapter! Thanks to blottyparchment for their review, I promise to try and make the chapters longer!**

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><p>Chapter 2:<p>

Dawn was just breaking as Arrietty stood in front of the roots of the tallest tree, looking up at the pink-tinged sky. It looked never ending, a giant to her small stature, and she mentally worked out how long it would take to climb it. _It's no use _she thought, _if I stand here and think about this for too long, I'll never get there!_ She banished the doubts from her head and faced off the tree. The tree just stood there and made no reaction. In the end, she checked over everything - her small brown bag, her trusty hat-pin, her brown boots and, because practicality won over memories, he hair which was tied back with a piece of green twine - then set off.

She jumped up onto the nearest root, leaping athletically from one to another as she scrambled through the knotted roots at the base of the tree. The rough bark dug into her hands but they were calloused from 14 years of exploring and borrowing.

Arrietty soon made it past the roots and paused to catch her breath before shrugging her pack off her shoulder. It was time for her secret weapon. She pulled out the pieces of double-sided tape (the ones she kept for an emergency) and, as her father had taught her that fateful day that changed her life, she attached a piece to each hand and each foot, and started to shimmy herself up the trunk of the tree.

Soon, bits of bark and dirt were starting to attach themselves to her tape, so she eyed up the nearest branch and started to edge towards it. Her tape was rapidly losing its stickiness, so she would have to move quickly. Left hand, right foot, right hand left foot, again, again, again. She pushed herself on with the pattern repeating itself in her head. Then, with a mighty leap, she flew onto the branch and fell to her knees panting. Arrietty pulled the bits of tape off her hands and feet and flung them back into her pack, grabbing a small lump of bread out before shutting the pack again.

She munched her snack happily, however the pleasure was short-lived. A dry tickling was clawing at her throat so she set off to explore the branch and find some water. It had been raining over the past few days, so the knot holes in the bark had little pools of water lying in them. She stared at her reflection in the water and pondered her task. She didn't even know if the Lendwitch was going to come for her. It was her hearts wish to see Shō, but what if the Lendwitch didn't hear her? She was just a small, 14 year old borrower. What difference could she make? What if Shō didn't live with his Aunt anymore and she couldn't find him? What if Shōs operation hadn't worked and he wasn't there anymore? What if - She silenced the voices in her head as she thought back to their parting. "_Arrietty, you're a part of me now. I will never forget you, ever._"

_I'm coming, Shō,_ she thought, _I gave you courage to live, you can give me the courage to find you!_

With that thought, she threw her hand into the centre of the reflection and cupped her hands round a mouthful of water. Her thirst sated, she ran back along the branch, grabbed another 4 pieces of tape from her bag and strapped them to herself. This time she leapt off the branch and scampered as fast as she could, passing branch after branch, climbing higher and higher until she was almost at the top. She could see the sunlight filtering through the leaves and the branches were getting closer together, so Arrietty ripped the final pieces of tape off and started to leap from branch  
>to branch.<p>

Her size meant she could easily leap up the tree as agilely as a squirrel or a cat and soon she had reached the final branches before breaking through into the sunlight. It was bright and warmed her skin, warmed her heart and with that warmth, she cried out with her soul.

"Lendwitch, Lendwitch! I seek to borrow some of your power. Please hear my hearts call!"

Arrietty sighed as nothing happened. The sun still shone down on her as she stood alone at the top of a tree. Just a small 14 year old Borrower. The thought dampened her spirit only for a moment before Shōs face appeared in her mind. He might still be waiting for her, Shō and his working heart. A heart she hoped she belonged to….even if it was just a little bit. It was the boost she needed, and a small breeze began to play around her hair and fluttering the leaves around her feet.

She jumped as a quiet voice behind questioned her.

"What is it you wish for, my child?"

**Btw the way, the next chapter may take a couple of days as this is the end of the ones I wrote while waiting for Arrietty to be put up on Fanfiction. I will try to write them and put them up as soon as I can! :) _otaku-san_**


	3. Chapter 3

**ne minna-san, here's the next chapter. hope youz are enjoying the story and I will try to get onto the next part soon! mata ne!**

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><p>Chapter 3:<p>

At first Arrietty couldn't turn around, she just didn't want it to be her imagination. Maybe it was the wind talking, maybe….no, she shook her head violently, and she definitely heard it.

"I thought you wanted me here, child. Are you telling me you weren't crying out with your heart, then?" the voice questioned.

She spun around hurriedly and was faced by the strangest, yet most beautiful woman she had ever seen.

The woman before her had ebony hair weaving down her back in a flowing ponytail; it would have been sophisticated if not for the fact that she had decorated the hair with torn pieces of stamps. Her dress was made from a mad mismatch of leaves, paper and scraps of material that camouflaged her against the greens of the tree and the browns of the trunk. Dangling from dress were a collection of strange objects - an acorn, a sweet wrapper, a pen lid, pieces of coloured glass - lots of strange things. Finally, on her nose were perched the thickest pair of glasses Arrietty had ever seen. They magnified the woman's eyes to ridiculous proportions and yet Arrietty could still see that they were the palest shade blue and older than any face could show.

"Are you….the Lendwitch?" Arrietty asked tentatively.

The strange woman smiled and jangled softly as she walked towards Arrietty.

"Yes, my child. I heard your call. That was a pretty strong image you know, you must really want to see him. Tell me about him."

"Well, to start with he's a human bean." The Lendwitch nodded and made an 'hmm' noise. "My family lived in his great Aunt's house as long as I can remember. We lived there and borrowed peacefully, until one day Shō turned up. He was staying with his great Aunt until his heart operation was over. Papa took me out on my first borrowing and he saw me. We were allowed to stay and Shō and I….talked. He rescued me once, and then I rescued him back, we were friends. However, one day the housekeeper found our house and tried to expose us. If Shō hadn't helped us we wouldn't be here. We had to leave just before his operation so I just want to see him. I want to make sure that he m- that he's recovering."

"Really? That's the only reason?" she sighed heavily, "It seemed like such a strong heart wish, I thought it might be more than friendship." She pouted.

Arrietty's face flushed a deep scarlet and she looked at the ground, mumbling incoherently.

"I thought so; you might not be such a hopeless case…."

The Lendwitch looked thoughtful and looked Arrietty up and down.

"Alright."

Arrietty looked up. "What?"

"I said alright. I'm prepared to help you."

"Really? You'll help me? I mean you can actually help me? Thank you!"

"Ah ah ah," Lendwitch said in a singsong voice, "I didn't say I'd help you for nothing. You knew how to call me, so I presume you know the rules. I don't give away my powers like a gift, I _lend_. Are you prepared pay the price?"

Arrietty looked at the woman in front of her, contemplating the options. Slowly she nodded her head.

The woman in front of Arrietty smiled back. "Well, my child. I think that too many people this world judged by how they see, including you. Therefore, I think that your meeting should be without sight, without judgement."

Arrietty froze. It took her a moment to process the words that came from the Lendwitch's mouth. She couldn't say anything.

"What is your answer, my child? I have other wishes to grant, and other places to go." She turned to go, jangling as she went.

Arrietty if quick step forward, her hand outstretched as if to grasp the dress in front of her. The woman stopped and Arrietty froze. She stepped back, looking sheepish as the Lendwitch turned around again.

"I did say that you would be without sight, I did not, however, say you would be left alone and lost in the middle of nowhere." Arrietty began to object but the Lendwitch stopped her with a wave of her hand, "I will give you a companion who will lead you in the right direction. He will not leave your side, or leave you in danger."

Arrietty let out a breath of relief.

"Then I accept. You can take my sight," she thought for a moment, "How long will the spell last?"

The Lendwitch smiled a smile that unnerved Arrietty.

"Well, I thought you'd never ask! You," she pointed at Arrietty, "will stay human until he kisses you. Not just mild kiss either, a _proper_ kiss. Just so you can have a little fun first!"

This made Arrietty flush a deep red again, "K-k-kisses me? What makes you think that's gonna happen?"

"I know, I just know. Are you ready now?"

Still flushing, Arrietty nodded, closed her eyes tight, and then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

**Heya my lovely little readers and reviewers! Sorry this took a little while to upload...okay write. I was gonna write it yesterday but got phenomenally drunk and therefore had the mother of all hangovers today...not clever! Also got distracted by Sherlock fanfiction...**

**I'm so sorry! *wails uncontrollably***

**...yeah, moving on. please read and review my luverlies! :)**

**enjoy!**

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><p>Earth, sap, leaves - all earthy, natural scents. Mowed grass, petrol fumes, plastic - less natural scents. Man made scents. Arrietty could smell her surroundings, definitely a forest. She could feel the soil and twigs beneath her hands. The sound of giggling children was drifting over the breeze, masking slightly the noises of cars in the distance. Arrietty tried to open her eyes but found she couldn't. Her hands flew to her face to find her eyes, but they were open. She didn't understand why she couldn't see.<p>

Suddenly it all came back her - the Lendwitch, the gift, the borrowed sight, Shō.

It scared her a little to not be able to see - it was only blackness - but she could still imagine what things could look like. The huge tree that towered next to her would still be tall, her dress would still be a bright shade of red, the cat sat next to her would still be purring.

Arrietty sat up sharply. There was a cat sitting next to her. She fought the urge to run and hide - she wasn't a few inches tall anymore, she could feel it. She reached around trying to find the cat, who nudged its head against her hand, purring loudly. Arrietty tickled the cat behind (as she had remembered seeing someone do, one rainy day), and, reaching her fingers down to its collar, traced the name on the tag.

_Ni-Ya._

The katakana (_Japanese symbols used for nicknames people, look them up _) on the cat's collar seemed familiar.

All of a sudden it came back to her - a brown and beige cat with vibrant yellow eyes, once an enemy and, in the end, an ally.

"Niya!" Arrietty exclaimed, "So you're who the Lendwitch sent to help me. No offence but I think it's going to be a struggle to find Shō with you being, well, being a cat and me being blind…."

Niya didn't say anything but he rubbed his head reassuringly against her wrist, in a way cats often wordlessly comfort, as if to say _"Don't worry, we'll find him. I'm a cat (as if that's not enough of an explanation)"_.

Arrietty sat and pondered for a moment before springing to her feet, and then stumbling slightly as she realised that she not only didn't know _where_ they were going, she couldn't _see_ where they were going. She also realised that she had no idea where Niya was….or how she was expected to follow a cat. However she soon found Niya who had taken to looping himself around her ankles and making little mewing sounds.

He detached himself from her legs and was gone for a few minutes before she heard mewing a short distance away. Slowly, and a little hesitantly, Arrietty shuffled forward in the darkness. This was going to take some time.

Niya led Arrietty to the edge of the forest, and then out onto a quiet road with a tall stone wall which she traced her hand along to keep her bearings. It had a rough-yet-smooth surface that seemed so out of place in the middle of Tokyo with the sharp-edged skyscrapers and shiny buildings she had seen from the roof of Shōs house. It felt like it should belong on the small, twisted roads out in the middle of nowhere - away from all the noise and bustle that happened every day over her head.

After a short while the wall curved away, and there was a small thump as Niya jumped down from where he had been walking. He gave a short mew and veered off across the road. On the other side was a small slope of grass that seemed to be so steep that Arrietty almost had to slide down it. She silently cursed the cat for leading her along such ridiculously strange path. They continued on, winding down small side streets, with Niya pausing every few moments to mew his position to Arrietty.

Finally, the tarmac beneath her feet had changed to paving slabs (edged by sandy soil, judging by the texture underfoot). Arrietty could feel the sunlight and shadows mottling her skin with combinations of warmth and cold that could only come from large trees shading the path. She carried on, the paving slabs still at her feet; until she felt a familiar smell hit her nose. Flowers. She could smell so many flowers, their scents drifting along the breeze. It reminded her of times past - times spent exploring a large paradise of towering plants and globular dew drops. She was home….well not her current home. She was where she had grown up, where she'd had adventures, where she met Shō.

"Caw, caw! Caw, caw!"

Arrietty froze in her tracks. She knew she was taller and couldn't technically be carried off by a crow, but all rational thought left her brain. Niya let out a yelp and tried to take a swipe at the dive-bombing crow. Arrietty's mind had gone back to her old size and she did what was etched into her brain. Run. She had no idea where she was going, but she kept going.

Out of nowhere, a voice cut through the chaos.

"Niya, is that you? What are you up to out the-?"

Arrietty halted as she ran smack bang into a something - somebody, cutting them off mid-sentence.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried as she tried to run on, to escape the threatening crow, but a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her backwards.

"Is that - is that really you?" the deep voice said.

The voice sounded so familiar to Arrietty, except with a slightly deeper timbre to it. She just couldn't place it…..

"Arrietty….it's me, Shō."

**Don't forget to review! :) free cyber cookies will be on their way *^-^***


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, sorry it's been a while! Thanks to all my lloverly reviewers - _moviefan-92_ (I look forward to your idea for a story!), _HalfDemonTwins_, _Ivy-Brennan_, _KayleighC_, _LeBookworm_, _ShadowWolfBeast_, _paigeydoll_, _blottyparchment_ and _Sillvog_. Sorry I havn't thanked some of you on previous chapters for your reviews. Keep on reviewing for cybercookies!**

**Since I havn't said this for a while, ofc I don't own Karigurashi no Arrietty (tis Studio Ghibli and Mary Norton).**

**And now...on with the story!**

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><p>Chapter 5:<p>

Arrietty just stood there, unmoving as Shō continued to explain.

"I don't know how you got tall….but I know it's you Arrietty. I….I couldn't forget _you_."

"Shō….is that really you? Niya hasn't just led me somewhere weird? I mean, I was following him but I didn't know where he was going."

"Don't you recognise where you are? The garden, the house, even from this height they must look familiar to you!"

Arrietty turned her head, as if ashamed or embarrassed.

"What is it?" Shō enquired, "What's wrong?"

"Shō….I can't see. I can't recognise anywhere because I'm blind. That's why I followed Niya here. It was the condition of me being human." She explained.

She couldn't see the look of shock on Shōs face but she could hear his gasp. He was always going to be surprised, but she didn't expect what happened next.

She felt warm, strong arms drawing her into a hug, but she couldn't reciprocate. Her arms were pinned to her sides by the hug and, even if she could move them, they would have still been frozen in place by shock.

"You did that just to come and see me? Couldn't you come to see me as a Borrower? Or were you too far away? Are you okay? Did it hurt?"

Arrietty couldn't get a word in as Shō questioned every aspect of her journey, her life, the change. She couldn't quite believe he was still holding her, and that he hadn't reacted to the fact that she was now human. She had had enough of the questions. Bracing her hands on Shōs hips, she pushed back from the hug. The warmth which had seeped into her arms and chest left instantly, leaving her missing it a little.

"Shō, stop." She said, firmly, "I came to see you and I had to give something up to be able to gain the power to be human - it's a short term visit. I won't have the power forever. I'm only going to be like this for a week, before I have to go home."

Arrietty knew she was lying to Shō, but she couldn't exactly tell him that she remained human until she kissed him (and kissed him good). She blushed at the thought. As soon as it had passed, another thought hit her. She had nowhere to stay for the week that she was human.

Shō seemed to have read her mind.

"Have you got anywhere to stay while you're human? I could ask my Great Aunt if you could stay here….I could pretend you're a friend from school…and your mum's out of town on business. Yeah, I'm sure she'll believe that," Shō mused.

"Thank you so much! Sorry for inconveniencing you!" Arrietty apologised, bowing deeply.

Shō chuckled and pulled her upright, holding onto her hand.

"Arrietty, I already told you. You gave me the courage to live. If I can do anything for you, it will never equal what you did for me."

Both sides blushed and smiled sheepishly at each other.

A shout from the house broke the moment between Arrietty and Shō.

"Shō! It's lunch time, come on inside now!"

Shō turned towards the house, pulling Arrietty along with him.

"That's here. I'll bring you with me and see if she'll let you stay."

As they drew nearer to the house, the smell of cooking hit her senses - warm rice, fried vegetables and meat. It smelled delicious and, subconsciously, Arrietty's stomach rumbled loudly.

Shō let out another low chuckle.

"I'm sure she'll let you have some food, too."

She blushed again - this seemed to be a frequent occurrence.

Shō left her on the porch while he went to negotiate and, as Arrietty stood soaking in the sun, she could hear the mumbling of voices. She recognised the low voice of the old lady who owned the house (and whose presence she had constantly avoided in order to live and borrow peacefully). After a few minutes, the conversation had finished and she heard two steps of footsteps coming towards her.

"Arrietty, this is my Great Aunt. She says you can stay!"

Again, Arrietty bowed deeply in the direction of Shō (because she had no idea where the old lady was).

"Thank you so much!" She said gratefully.

"It's no problem, my dear. Now, would you like to join us for lunch? Then you can tell me all about you and your family. I've got many rooms in this old house, so after lunch you can choose somewhere to sleep. I see you haven't brought any clothes with you, "Arrietty's hands pulled at her plain red dress, "I think I have some of my niece's old clothes somewhere that you can borrow."

Arrietty was almost overwhelmed by the motherliness of Shōs great Aunt and couldn't say anything in response. Shō came to her rescue and pulled her into the house.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey minna-san! I havn't disappeared off the face of the earth, honest! Been trying to conquer Japanese short-form and making a Sesshy cosplay at the same time this week (and the visit from the family at the weekend), so I hope I'm only a little late with this chapter.**

**Don't forget to R and R, cuz you know i love reading them! :) Thanks to _Shizuku Tsukishima749, moviefan-92, Kris3z, Andyisimple_ and _Nekobasu97_ for this weeks reviews! Cybercookies to all of you! :)**

**Now read on and enjoy...**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6:<strong>

Arrietty, Shō and his Great Aunt sat around the table in the dining room, eating in an awkward silence.

"So Arrietty, what do your parents do?" Shōs Great Aunt asked politely to break the quiet.

Both Arrietty and Shō flinched slightly, but she answered anyway.

"My kaa-san is a housewife, she cooks and keeps the house safe - I mean clean. Tou-san, um, he collects things, and fixes them. He's really cool; he can make anything out of the things he finds! He made most of the stuff in our house…."

Arrietty trailed off, she'd almost said too much but Shō's Great Aunt just smiled to herself (she thought Arrietty's story sounded so familiar to the ones about the little people she'd heard about when she was a child).

"So what is it that has taken your parents out of town?"

This caught Arrietty by surprise. She'd been there for less than an hour and she'd already forgotten her cover story. She had to try and cover it up with a new one, and quickly.

"Umm….well, kaa-san had to go visit her sister and she lives out of town. Aunty's not feeling well, so kaa-san is staying with her until she's back on her feet. Tou-san was going to stay with me, but one of his contacts, Spiller, said he'd found the part tou-san needed for his latest project. They had to go to find it together, so it was just me at home. Luckily Shō said he could help."

She was rambling a little, but it got her story out, her cover-up was complete.

"He's such a lovely child," his Great Aunt said with a bright smile, much to the embarrassment of Shō, "He's just like his mother, although she never came to visit me as much as Shō does. It's so nice to have people in this draughty old house."

The mood in the room had softened and all three lapsed in polite, yet friendly conversation, in between eating the meal Shō's Great Aunt had made.

Once they'd finished eating, Shō and his Great Aunt showed Arrietty up the stairs, which Arrietty remembered from her adventured with Shō, and onto a landing with a number of doors leading to different rooms.

"Now, you can pick any of the rooms of this floor," Shōs Great Aunt said pointing to the doors, "except from this one, its Shōs. Oh, I'm sorry dear, I forgot. It's the first door on the left, just after the stairs. You'll be on the same floor so if you need him, you'll know where he is."

"I know which one she might like, Aunty, can I show it to her?" Shō piped up, enthusiastically.

"Of course, Shō. I'll go and get you some clothes Arrietty. If you need me I'll be just down the hall."

Shō's Great Aunt began to walk down the hall, but turned back around just before she got to the end.

"By the way, Arrietty, feel free to call me Aunty Sadako. Everyone does, except from Shō," she started to wander off again, muttering to herself quietly, "He's such a nice, polite boy…."

Shō grabbed Arrietty's hand and led her along the corridor, stopping shortly to open a heavy door in front of them. As they stepped into the room, the smell of dozens of different flowers hit her senses - they travelled on a nice cool breeze that wafted through the room. Arrietty took a few cautious steps into the room and then a few more, following the breeze to a large open window. She felt around in front of her and found, to her surprise, a large rocking chair. It felt like it was made of old, solid oak, smelled like it to - an old, well-loved rocking chair smell. She loved it.

She stood in the window, basking in the warm sunbeams like a cat, when she heard Shō come and stand beside her. Gingerly, he took her hand, letting her know where he was.

"That's the garden out there; I thought you'd like the smell of the flowers. I know I do, I'm just next door so I get the same smell every morning. It's beautiful, isn't it…." Shō said quietly. He still had Arrietty's hand, but neither he nor Arrietty mentioned it.

"Thank you so much, Shō. It's lovely. It reminds me of my old room. I used to collect all the flowers from the garden and bring them back to my room - my own private garden. Kaa-san thought it was dangerous, being in the garden, but she never nagged too much because I always brought her back Bay leaves and Shiso for her to cook with." Arrietty sighed wistfully. She missed that room, there weren't so many flowers for her to pick in the forest. She had to travel further to the park to pick wildflowers.

"That was the first time I saw you, when you were out in the garden. I had just got here and I hear Niya making a fuss in the garden. I thought he was chasing a butterfly or something, but then I saw you. You had your hair let down and were holding onto those little pink flowers. I thought you looked so pretty climbing all the plants."

Arrietty couldn't see that her blush echoed the one now spreading across Shō's cheeks. Their hands still remained joined, but they had subconsciously moved closer to each other.

Neither of them saw Sadako standing in the doorway, smiling wistfully and remembering times gone by. She had a pile of clothes in her hands, obviously for Arrietty, but when she saw her and Shō talking in the window, she left them at the door and crept away quietly.

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><p><strong>Yeah, ok...it's a little fluffy at the end. I'm getting there, honestly. Just be patient. And don't whine, or you'll get cliffy's before the kiss :P<strong>

**P.s I obviously don't own Arrietty :P**

**P.P.s Review please! Go, push the button, you know you want to...cookies await you on the other side... ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, since I had all those lovely reviews (_dustkeeper, Amethyst Jewels, Violet-Taco_ and _Darkness Shade_)in the past few days, I decided to write and upload you a lovely long chapter early. How about that then, see where reviews get you? :)**

**Hope you enjoy this, and please read/review.**

**Or else...**

**ATTENTION! at the end of the chapter, I have put in a cllue as to what is happening in the next chapter, however I am a little stuck for ideas, if anyone has any suggestions, I would be very grateful (and ofc all idea-makers will be properly cited - i won't have it being said that I nick ideas! ;) ). Feel free to leave any ideas in the review box, or pm me.**

**Thanks, now read on :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7:<strong>

Later that evening, as Arrietty sat in her room, she heard a thump by the window. It was followed by a soft mewl.

"Niya, what are you doing here?"

He rubbed against her leg then walked away from her. Arrietty followed him, she knew he wanted her to go somewhere…he was her guide, of course he would.

She followed him cautiously as he led her down the stairs and across the hall. Arrietty wondered where they were going, but she didn't question. It wasn't like Niya was going to answer her….

Eventually, they got to the front door which Niya pawed at until Arrietty opened it. The cold evening air hit her and she shivered. She hadn't bothered to try on any of the sweaters Aunty Sadako had left for her because it had been so warm during the day, she regretted it now.

Stepping off the porch she heard rusting in the grass ahead and followed the sound, gasping as the cold dew trickled down her legs. She carried on regardless, constantly on guard for Niya's rustling and his soft mew when he stopped to assure her he was still there. They carried on through the garden and had just reached the woods near the end when Niya came to an abrupt stop, letting out a loud mewl.

"What is it, Niya? What did you want me to come out here for?" Arrietty asked questioningly.

"Arrietty."

The deep voice coming out of the darkness startled her. For one crazy moment she thought it was Niya talking to her, but then it clicked. She knew the owner of that voice, and it didn't sound happy.

"Tou-san, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question. Do you know how worried your mother has been? We wake up and you're just GONE! All we're left with is a NOTE! The Lendwitch is a _story_ we tell to little borrowers, that doesn't mean you go off to find her on her own!"

He sounded more cross than Arrietty had ever heard him, she supposed he had reason to, but it was all too much. Tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"Tou-san! I went to see the Lendwitch because I wanted to see Shō again. It's not like I left forever, ok? I was going to come back, and someday I'm gonna have to leave anyway! You're going to have to get used to that fact, tou-san. I'm staying here until I want to come home, or at least until the enchantment wears off."

Tears were really falling now, streaming in ribbons down her cheeks.

She didn't see her tou-san's anger soften a little once she started crying. He loved his daughter, and had been so worried to find her gone. He'd known in an instant where she'd gone, though; she and the human had grown close while they'd been living in Sadako's house. It was the obvious place she would be.

Pod had trekked for the whole day to find his way back to their old house - he'd seen it on his travels for odds and ends to make his gadgets out of. He'd paddled the old brass kettle back up the stream towards the house and then taken several hours to climb the steep slope up to the garden. Waiting until nightfall, he had started to creep through the garden when Niya had found him. He knew the cat now meant him no harm (he'd seen how the creature had brought Shō to wish Arrietty goodbye before they left), and had asked him to go and get Arrietty. The cat had complied and now here she was.

She had a distant look in her eyes and wasn't looking at him, even when he talked.

"Did you really find the Lendwitch Arrietty?" He asked softly.

"Yes, tou-san. How do you think I got to be like this? I didn't just grow magically overnight…..well I did, but it wasn't by myself. I needed help." She said, a tad annoyed.

"Now, if I remember the story correctly, doesn't she ask you for something in return? I'm sure she didn't just make you human for nothing. Go on, what did she make you give her?" He sounded a little worried, but exasperated at the same time.

"I gave her my sight, tou-san. She said that people judged the world too much by what they saw, so she said I had to be human _without_ sight. She gave me Niya, though. He helped me find Shō, and to find you."

"I see….and how long will this enchantment last?"

"I-I, umm, it will only last a week. So I'll be back with you and kaa-san soon."

Arrietty smiled, but she felt bad for lying to her tou-san as well as Shō.

"Arrietty. I have known you for almost 15 years now. Don't you think I know when you're lying?"

Arrietty flinched; she hadn't expected him to know that she was lying. She felt embarrassed at having to tell him the truth.

"Well….umm, the Lendwitch said I had to remain a human until I…._kssd_ him." She mumbled the offending word incoherently, hoping her tou-san would drop the subject.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that last bit. What is the condition Arrietty?"

"I have to _kiss_ him, tou-san. That's the condition before I can become a borrower again. So I don't know how long I'll be here. I told Shō I would be staying a week, so I don't know what I'm going to do, tou-san."

Her father looked a little bewildered, he wasn't good with those sorts of things and wished Homily was with him. She would have known what to do.

"Well then, I'll come back at the end of the week to take you home. Just make sure you are in a fit state to come home." He emphasised the last statement in way that Arrietty would understand. She had to be human by the end of the week, so she would have to kiss him by the end of the week. '_No pressure there, then,_' she thought.

"But tou-san -"

"No, Arrietty. You're mother is worried enough as it is. I will not have you staying more than a week. You will be ready to come by the end of the week. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, tou-san," she said, sadly.

Pod turned to go, but looked back long enough to see his daughter looking utterly miserable.

"Be safe, Arrietty. Remember, things are still dangerous even though you are bigger," and then he was gone.

Arrietty reached for Niya, who mewled and led her slowly back to the house. The cold night air made her shiver and made the tear tracks on her face feel cold against her skin. For once, she wished she could see what the garden looked like at night. It might have distracted her from the feeling that soon she would have to leave. She knew it would happen eventually, she wouldn't be able to stay human forever.

As she reached the porch of the house, Niya came to a stop and sat on the step, mewling at her.

"What is it Niya?" She asked, a little worried.

"Don't worry," a voice said from in front of her, "he's just mewling at me."

"Shō, you scared me. What are you doing out here?"

"I couldn't sleep. I was thinking of what we could do this week. What about you? What are _you_ doing out here?"

Arrietty knew she couldn't lie, Shō had probably heard her talking to someone.

"My tou-san came to see me. He was worried about where I'd gone. He's going to come back and get me at the end of the week, when the enchantment wears off."

Arrietty sat herself down on the porch step and Shō moved a little closer.

"I brought you a jumper," he said, handing her the warm jumper, "I thought I should bring an extra one out with me. Now, what are we going to do while you're here? Have you ever been to an amusement park?"

Arrietty shook her head. She had no idea what one of those was, but it sounded like fun.

"Well, that's where we'll start, I think."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey minna-san. Sorry this took a while. I've had a lot of work to do and was then totally uninspired. Ended up watching Amelie yesterday, though, and I think you might see some influence near the end.**

**Thanks to all of you who gave me ideas for the Amusement Park chapter, I will try to include as many as possible and will try to get the chapter up by Monday at the latest (I hope!).**

**Now read, review and enjoy! :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8:<strong>

As the next day dawned and the sun rose above Tokyo, Arrietty sat in her room deciding what to wear. Niya sat next to her. He was supposed to be clothing confidant, but decided to sprawl in the sunbeams shining into her room instead - much more enjoyable in his opinion.

Arrietty, on the other hand, decided this was totally useless (and had made sure Niya knew this fact, repeatedly). She was feeling all the clothes, judging them by their texture, and was placing them in piles according to comfort. She had no idea what the colours were but would have to judge either Shō's or Sadako's reactions to her choices.

She eventually settled on a rough feeling pair of trousers, a thin, short sleeved top and an oversized shirt, made of soft material, to go over the top. Her outfit matched the feel of the weather outside, which was sunny, but with a cooling breeze floating across the sky. She thought it might get colder later on, and as a result grabbed a jumper as well. It had been the one Shō gave her the night before. It felt so soft and she sat there stroking it absentmindedly.

A knock at the door broke her from her thoughts and soon after a voice came through the door.

"Arrietty, you ready to go?"

It was Shō.

She stood up, brushing a stray bit of cat fluff off her trousers, and walked to the door. As she yanked it open, she was met with a well-disguised gasp (turned inconspicuously into a cough). She guessed that, by this reaction, her choice in clothing wasn't all bad.

Wordlessly, Shō took her hand and led her down the stairs, and out of the house. Niya hadn't followed them, so Arrietty assumed that Shō was her guide for the day. She didn't mind all that much.

He led her down winding streets and, at one point along a busy road. She heard the cars whizzing past and smelt the exhaust fumes that clogged the air - it was one of the worst things she'd ever smelt! They soon turned away from the road and found themselves in a quiet, little station.

"We're going to have to get the train out to the amusement park, so keep hold of my hand so you don't get lost!" Shō said in her ear, quietly.

Truthfully, she didn't _actually_ know what a train was. She'd heard about them from her tou-san - they were large metal things that went rushing around full of people. They sounded scary, but she had Shō with her and he was taking her on one. How scary could they be?

She flinched a little when she heard a loud rumble, and then the noise of the tannoy announcing that the train had just arrived. Shō pulled on her hand and they were dragged into the crush of people on the train. Arrietty could feel people all around her, but couldn't see any of them. It felt so claustrophobic and she began to feel scared. If Shō's hand hadn't been holding hers, she would have been lost in a sea of people.

"Don't worry; we'll be getting off soon. Just stay close to me," Shō said quietly in her ear.

She guessed that he must have seen how scared she looked.

As they stopped at the next station, more people crowded onto the train and Arrietty felt Shō being pushed closer to her. He took his hand, untangling it from Arrietty's and put it around her waist to make sure they didn't get separated. Arrietty leaned into him a little. She was enjoying being close to him, when they arrived at the next station and Shō grabbed her hand again as they attempted to push their way off the train. It was a nightmare!

They made it to the platform just as the doors were shutting, and Shō pulled them towards the exit.

"We're gonna have to walk from here to get to the amusement park, but I'll take you through the town first. It's a beautiful place, you'll love it!"

"But Shō -"

He cut her off.

"Don't worry; you'll know this town like the back of your hand when we're finished."

The pair lapsed into a leisurely walk and soon came across a main shopping street full of people.

"Smell that? That's a dango stall. The old man making the dango has crinkly eyes; he's been doing it for years and hasn't ever changed the recipe. Over there's a little girl with her _kaa-san_. She's seen a stall selling jewellery. They're all sparkly in the sun and she's tugging on her _kaa-san_'s hand to get her to look at the stall. We're just passing a _konbini_, there's a business women coming out with a coffee. She looks like she's late for work but the coffee seems to be taking preference. There's a little stall over there selling colourful windmills - they're catching the wind a little and spinning slowly. A black cat's sitting next to the stall, she's watching the windmills spinning around and now she's doing that sprawling thing Niya does in sunbeams."

Arrietty giggled, and was then pulled around a corner by Shō.

"We're heading down the main road that leads to the Amusement park now, Arrietty. There are people everywhere in shorts and sunglasses. A couple over there are arm in arm; she's smiling at him, but he's too busy texting. A family over there are excited to be here. The two little kids are racing ahead and the parents are struggling to catch up. A group of junior high school kids are checking out a group of girls, and failing miserably by the look of things. Oh, and we're just coming up to the ticket barriers."

"How many tickets would you like, sir?"

"Two students, please. Thank you." Shō said, pulling Arrietty along by the hand, "Come on Arrietty, let's go have some fun."

**Don't forget to review, please! :)**

**Plus, I obviously don't own Arrietty or the Borrowers.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Heya minna-san. I'm back! It's been hectic as usual here but I have managed to bring you some writing...*ahem*...moving on. Thanks to all youz out there who gave me ideas for the Amusement Park scene. I got so many that I have split it into 2 chapters, so here is the first part.**

**p.s. i will accredit those who gave me the ideas in the next chapter.**

**p.p.s as always, i don't own karigurashi no arrietty, but read and review anyway!**

**Chapter 9:**

The first thing Arrietty realised, as they stepped into the Amusement Park, was the huge cacophony of smells and sounds that bombarded her. There were people _everywhere_, making more noise than she had ever heard in her life. So many conversations going on meant that she couldn't catch even a work out of the mess. She could also hear strains of tinny music floating over the chatter.

"Shō, is there a teacup ride here? Can we go on it?" Arrietty asked excitedly.

"You sure? You'll get really dizzy…."

"Yup!" she said with a big grin, "I want to go on the teacups."

Shō sighed and they started walking towards the queue for the teacups.

"The queue's not too long so we should get on the next one." Shō said to Arrietty, who was looking very excited, "Why are you so excited about this?"

"I've never been on any of these rides before! I've been in a teacup before, but never one that moved or had such pretty music playing….it feels like it should be so much fun."

As the music drew to a close, and the people on the ride filed out the exit, the queue moved forwards and Shō pulled Arrietty towards the ride. She stumbled forward a bit, tripping up the platform which led to the teacups. She felt around in front of her and her hands brushed the cold plastic of the teacup. Shō helped her into the teacup and helped her find the wheel in the middle before shutting the small door in the side of the teacup.

Arrietty felt the ride start up, and the tinny music begin to play softly. The cup started to move, slowly at first and then beginning to speed up. All of a sudden, Shō started to spin the cup. She felt dizzy and excited, laughing loudly and gripping onto the sides of the cup. The air whipped past her, tousling her hair.

"See, I told you this would be fun!" Arrietty yelled over the noise of the ride as she heard Shō laughing along with her.

As quickly as it had started, the ride began to slow down and then stop, leaving a very dizzy Arrietty. She eagerly took Shō's hand as he helped her out of the teacup, tripping on the rim on the way out.

"My turn to pick the ride now," said Shō, with a smirk in his voice, "since you made me go on the teacups. I think it's time to give the rollercoaster a go."

"What's a rollercoaster?" Arrietty asked, confused. She had heard of the teacups before, and a few other traditional rides, but she'd never heard of whatever this 'rollercoaster' was.

"You've never heard of a rollercoaster? Well, you remember the train we rode this morning?" Arrietty blushed at this memory, but Shō didn't notice, "It's gonna be like that but the ride will be a bit bumpier. Oh, and there's no roof."

"Oh…wait, there's no roof? How are we supposed to stay in the train, then? Won't we just fall out? Sounds a bit dangerous."

"We're strapped in, Arrietty. It's not as dangerous as it sounds, just very fast."

With that, they were off towards the rollercoaster. The queue had already grown considerably while they were on the teacups, and a sign next to the rollercoaster stated a forty minute wait. It was obvious that the queue was not going to get shorter for a while, so Arrietty and Shō joined the end of the queue and stood in companionable silence for a while. Eventually, they began to edge nearer to the rollercoaster, and Arrietty heard the roar of the train as it whipped past, the rush of wind that followed, and the screams as it rounded corners. She was afraid of what this rollercoaster entailed. Would she be safe? She trusted Shō; he seemed to be excited about the rollercoaster so surely there was nothing to worry about.

"Shō, are you sure it's safe? Aren't you scared?" Arrietty questioned.

"Truthfully? I'm sure they're safe; they check everything to make sure the rollercoaster is safe before people can ride it. However," he said with a pause, "I've never been on one before because of my heart. This is my first time on one of these…."

He sounded a little guilty, but still excited to be going on the rollercoaster.

Another rush came past, and a squeal of brakes told Arrietty that the train was there waiting for them. She was pulled by Shō towards it and he pulled down her safety harness (making sure she was safely strapped in).

"Don't worry Arrietty, we'll be fine. Just hold onto the bar in front of you, and enjoy yourself."

Arrietty gripped the bar tightly, and tried to slow down her heart which was hammering away with fear. She heard the warnings about staying in the car at all times, and to keep their hands inside the car. She wondered why anyone would want to be out of the car…..

Then the car started moving. Her grip on the bar tightened and she felt the car start to go up a slope, it was one of the most disconcerting things - being carried around and not being able to see what on earth was going on. They had reached the top of the incline, and Arrietty had started to relax, when the train suddenly came to a halt and then sped down a steep hill, following it up with several more hills, twists and turns. She screamed. The wind sped past her face, making her eyes water, and she felt the urge to curl up until the danger was over.

Sensing her discomfort, Shō put his hand over hers and giving it a little squeeze.

"Arrietty, just imagine it's like that time the crow attacked you outside my window. Remember, you had to hide in my hand? Pretend it's like that. You weren't so scared then."

As she thought about it, it made sense. That had seemed like an adventure. Add a little technology and it became a nightmare. She imagined that the bars in front of her, and the safety harness, were Shō's fingers; the seat was the palm of his hand. She couldn't see anything because he was hiding her from the angry crow. He was right, it was an adventure!"

She could hear Shō whooping with excitement and joined in, releasing the bar and waving her arms in the air. They were just beginning to enjoy themselves when the car began to slow down and then, with a screech of brakes, come to a stop. The harnesses unlatched and they climbed out of the car.

Arrietty was shaking with the adrenaline, and could feel Shō doing the same as he took her hand. The adrenaline was momentarily forgotten as Arrietty's stomach rumbled loudly. It seemed to be getting into a habit of doing that at awkward moments.

"Shall we get some lunch then?" Shō asked, with a chuckle.

He pulled her towards what smelled like a hotdog stand. The salty smell of the brine and the tangy smell of ketchup and mustard permeated the air.

"Would you like a hotdog? Any ketchup or mustard, or neither?" Shō asked, as if it was normal for her to have tried these foods. She used to see picture hotdogs from advertising leaflets and wondered what they tasted like.

"Um, I'll just have a plain one. I don't know what mustard or ketchup taste like."

She didn't have to see Shō's face to know the disbelieving look that would be crossing it. It was a silent look, but that was what gave it away. She sometimes wondered if he still remembered she used to be a borrower.

Shō asked the vendor for two hotdogs, he was having his with everything, and they took them across to what must have been a little picnic bench. Arrietty took an anxious breath, and then bit into the hotdog. It tasted strange; the bread was soft, but so was the hotdog. It didn't taste like _anything_ she'd ever eaten before, although it didn't have much of a taste. Nevertheless, she ate it quickly. Hunger won over taste, as was so often the case.

Once they'd finished, Shō suggested that they try the Haunted House, although he asked if they could make a quick stop-off first. He sat her on a bench at the side of the path and told her to wait for a moment. She sat obediently, listening to the aimless chatter that drifted past. It was still sunny, so she was sitting in the warmth, her chin in her hands, thinking about home.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar noise coming towards her.

_CAAAAW! CAW! CAW!_

She didn't think twice, bolting from the bench and sprinting off down the path, running into people as she sped away from the danger. She ignored the cries of annoyance as she bashed into people. Before she knew it, she had reached somewhere quiet. It took a minute for her to realise that she was totally alone. She was lost….


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, minna-san. Sorry, been hectic! First off, I'm losing my sanity because I gave up reading FanFiction for lent (it's intruding on how much time I actually spend studying...). There are so many stories I wanna read, and I can't, not till Easter! ~ Then, my red moleskine of power (which I write all my fanfics in), got lost. Turns out I left it in a taxi the other day, but it had my mobile number in, so the nice man at the taxi office phoned me up today to tell me they had it. Crisis averted. Anyways...enjoy the story. You know the drill: Read, Enjoy, Review!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10:<strong>

Realising that, without Shō, she was going nowhere Arrietty sat down where she was. The ground was hard and felt cold on her hands. It smelt man-made, like the foundations of Sadako's house. Around her, the noises of Amusement Park had faded and were merely whispers instead of the screams and chattering they were. It was as if she was back in the woods again, where the noises of life happening around her were almost silent.

She tried to remember what it would have been like to be lost if she was a borrower again, with her sight restored. Her kaa-san would be yelling out of the window for her to come to supper, as she would probably have been exploring the forest. Every day she found some new corner or secret space to have her adventures. Soon she would have to move out and find her own home - her own place to start borrowing. She couldn't decide whether she would be an inside borrower like her mother, or an outside borrower like her father. It was easier to live in a house and borrow from the humans, but it was more thrilling living out in the wild where danger was at every turn and you had to go out and search for food. It would be adventure every time for her. Her kaa-san couldn't keep her in the house now that they lived in the forest, let alone when they were in Sadako's house.

"Arrietty? Arrietty! ARIETTY!"

It started off quietly, but got progressively louder with each shout. The voice was unmistakeable. It was Shō.

"Arrietty. Where have you been?" He sounded so worried.

He pulled her up and into such a tight hug that Arrietty thought he wouldn't ever let go. He did, eventually, but only to hold her at arm's length as if to look her in the eye.

"Where have you been?" He repeated, "I was so worried when I came back and you weren't there on the bench. I had to ask around and see if anyone had seen you go. Why did you run off like that?"

Arrietty looked down, embarrassed.

"I heard a crow, it scared and my instincts kicked in. I ran until I couldn't hear it, and by then I was lost." She realised how silly she sounded the minute the words came out of her mouth.

"Well, I'm just happy I found you. Did you know you're sitting behind all the shops? I hate to think how you got here, it'll take us at least 20 minutes to get to the big wheel now…."

He trailed off, and then took hold of her hand and started walking in the direction of what she presumed was the big wheel. There was a silence between them which verged on the awkward, but the buzz of noise, from everyone else in the park, filled the gap as they walked.

Soon, they had reached the queue for the big wheel. The queue didn't seem to be too long, but to Arrietty it sounded like it was mostly couples, or small groups of girls that populated the line. She could hear the gossiping and giggling between the groups, the shy conversations between the couples, and the silence between her and Shō. It was a little unsettling now, it was like he'd disappeared into the edges of the darkness she couldn't see, but he still held onto her hand reassuringly, it was her lifeline.

He gently pulled her along as the queue moved, and soon enough, into the carriage for the big wheel.

"Watch out, Arrietty. There's a step here to get into the carriage."

His voice sounded odd after not speaking for ages, a little husky from the lack of use.

They both settled onto the little plastic seats at the edge of the carriage, one either side, and Arrietty felt them set off. It was quite a slow, jolty motion, stopping every few minutes for new people to get on. She wondered what the world would look like from up here. The only views she'd had were as a borrower and from the time she'd climbed the roof on Shō's house. The world had looked so small that time, much like she would look if humans had seen her. Would it still be so small?

"Shō?" She wondered if he was still there, if he was looking at the slowly shrinking landscape.

"Yeah, Arrietty?"

"What does it look like down there? What does the world look like from up here?"

"What? Oh…right." He sounded distracted, as if he had forgotten he was supposed to be talking to her. "Well, let me see."

She didn't see him wince slightly at his unfortunate choice of words.

"At the moment, I can just see the Amusement Park. There are big groups of people heading for the exit now because it's getting late - they don't look like people anymore, they look like huge groups of ants. I can see further out as well. There are small patches of green and trees where the parks and gardens are. There aren't that many anymore, it's such a shame. I guess you guys make good use of those, huh?"

Arrietty nodded.

"Oh, I can see more of the city now, there are loads of skyscrapers. Those are the tall buildings with loads of windows, the sun's reflecting off all the windows which are making it light up like a torch. It's quite pretty, but it's blinding. The city just seems to keep on going for miles, I guess it does, but it looks like it'll never end! I can see all the cars and trains making their way around the city. There are so many cars; they look like beetles scurrying about in the undergrowth. The trains all look like worms snaking through the buildings; I bet they're all crammed with people like when we were on the train this morning."

He laughed, as she winced at the thought of being crammed into a train again.

"The sun's just setting now, and its light is hitting everything. It's so orange that all the buildings look like they're on fire! You know, it makes your hair look flames now. It's beautiful."

Shō murmured the last bit, but Arrietty just about managed to hear it. She lifted her hand and, following the sound of Shō's voice, cupped his cheek softly. He leaned into it a little and she felt her heart jump.

"I'm really glad you became human, Arrietty, even if it's only for a week. It means I can show you my world….well, tell you about my world. It's not as scary as it is when you're small, especially when you've got me and Niya to look after you."

"I couldn't ask for better guides," She said, smiling, "I'm glad I managed to come as well, Shō. I've only been here for a day, but I've already learnt so much, about the world, about being a human, about you. I'll be so sad when I have to go home. I'll miss you, Shō." She said, sadly.

Arrietty looked down, sadly, and took her hand away from Shō's cheek. She sat fiddling with her hands in her lap.

"Arrietty?"

Shō's voice broke the quiet.

"Don't worry about it for now, we'll enjoy the time we have together now. Ok?"

"How? The thought of going home now, it just makes me too sad to enjoy anything."

"I have a few ideas…." Shō whispered this part.

He leant in slowly and brushed Arrietty's lips ever so lightly with his before pulling her to him in a hug. Arrietty barely felt the kiss, but she knew what had happened. She was still in shock when the carriage jolted to a halt at the bottom of the ride and Shō helped her out. She was still in shock as they walked out of the Amusement Park. Still in shock as they were crammed onto a busy train, and Shō had to hold onto her so that they didn't get separated, and, as she sat in bed that night, her hand brushed over her lips. The realisation hit her. He'd actually kissed her.

**Yeah, I make no apologies for it being fluffy :P So no complaints...**

**Plus, I promised I'd put in the thanks to all my contributors: Sentinel07, Dithinus, Ablissa, Violet-Taco, dustkeeper, Darkness Shade and Amethyst Jewels.**

**I am indebted to you guys, and everyone who reviews the story. It makes me so happy getting those reviews in my Inbox :) :) Keep going guys! Arigatou!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Well minna-san, I'm back :) It's been an arse of a week (excuse the language, it seemed the only suitable word to describe it...). Why do people think it's funny to put all your deadlines in the same week? Aaaaaaanyways, all out the way now, so I have a lovely long chapter for you (if a little late).**

**Now you guys all know how much I love your reviews, so you've gotta have the drill sorted by now: read, enjoy, review!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 11:<strong>

It was two days later when Sadako came rushing into the room where Arrietty and Shō were talking, and playing with the Dolls House, with the good news. She sounded as though she had run all the way back from town (where she'd been shopping).

"Ooooh, you'll never guess what is happening tonight in town!" She sounded as giddy as a schoolgirl, "There's a _matsuri_ at the local temple. Would you two like to go?"

"Wow, that sounds fun, Great Aunt Sadako. We should go Arrietty!" Shō sounded as excited as Sadako.

"I might have an old _yukata_ of my nieces that you could wear; oh it's been so long since I could dress up a girl for a _matsuri. _Not since your mother, Shō!"

Sadako babbled on to herself as she went to dig out the old _yukata_ she had in her room.

"Shō, what's a _matsuri_?" Arrietty asked, embarrassed that she still knew so little about the world she was enjoying being a part of. She remembered vaguely going out on treks with her father to collect scraps of food that had been left over after a big event at the temple, but all the people had gone by then and the place was empty. She had no idea what actually happened during a _matsuri._

"Well, to put it briefly, it's where people gather at the local shrine to enjoy themselves, eat food and get their fortunes told. It's a lot of fun, but you'll find that out when we get there." Shō said, a little conspiratorially.

Sadako rushed back in a few minutes later and pulled Arrietty to her feet, excitedly muttering about _yukatas_ and dressing her up.

"I'll just be borrowing Arrietty for a little while, Shō. So you go and get ready, we'll be leaving in about half an hour." She said, before rushing out the room with Arrietty in tow.

Arrietty was quickly pulled into another room (she could sense the changes in direction), was plonked down onto a stool and told to wait. She could hear Sadako rustling some material behind her, and was curious as to what the _yukata_ looked like. That was another thing she remembered seeing when out scavenging with her father. She'd seen a beautiful young woman in a plain cotton kimono, a light shade of blue, walking the darkened streets. It was an image that stayed with her.

"Right then, Arrietty, you're going to need to take off your dress so that I can put this yukata on you properly." Sadako's voice broke through her daydream.

Her cheeks bloomed bright red at the thought of having to take her dress off in front of somebody else, but she fought it back with idea of looking like the woman in the yukata. Arrietty felt Sadako put the main part of the _yukata _on her, wrapping it around and then tying it with a large piece of material that went round her waist several times. She felt it tighten and then get tied at her lower back. Sadako then moved onto her hair, pulling it back into a bun and pinning it down. She also felt her pushing something into the side of it and, feeling it with her hand, discovered it to be a papery-feeling flower with two stings of beads dangling from it. Finally, Sadako pulled out a pair of _geta_ and _tabi_ and helped her put them on her feet. She felt so elegant.

When Sadako was finished, she helped Arrietty up and held her arm as she shuffled along the corridor towards the stairs where she heard her call out to Shō.

"It's time to go Shō, you ready? We'll meet you at the front door." She said this as she whisked Arrietty past the door and carefully helped her down the stairs. It was especially difficult while she wore the _geta_, but she made it there in the end.

As she got to the bottom, Arrietty realised that something was different. It wasn't that something was wrong, but she felt different somehow. Her sight, which had once been black and empty, had a pale yellow glow around the edges. This got ever so slightly brighter as she neared the light that was shining on the porch roof. Arrietty was confused, wasn't she supposed to lose her sight until she became a borrower again? Did this mean she was going to turn back? How could the magic wear out when she hadn't even fulfilled the conditions of the change? She was beginning to move from confused to scared and worried. She didn't want to become a borrower again; she wanted to be with Shō for as long as she could.

Her panicking was cut short when a hand gently took hers and led her out of the door.

"We'll be back before midnight, Great Aunt Sadako!" Shō shouted as they walked down the driveway.

Arrietty could feel a bit of a chill in the wind, but the night was relatively warm in itself. She hadn't brought anything to wear over the _yukata_; she thought it would look a little odd, so she took a note of the temperature.

As they walked down the quiet night road, there was another silence between them. Arrietty wondered whether it was how she was dressed. Did she look odd wondering about in a _yukata? _Was everyone else wearing normal clothes? She stiffened a bit at that thought, but felt Shō give her hand a kind squeeze.

"You look beautiful, Arrietty. I'm going to have to keep a close guard on you….." he whispered the first part, and muttered the last bit in a disgruntled tone.

It made Arrietty giggle, and try to cover it up with a small cough. Shō batted her lightly on the side of the arm and she laughed again, louder this time.

By the time they reached the shrine, the awkward silence was gone and they were chatting away. Arrietty had been too engaged in the conversation to notice that more people had joined them on their trek to the shrine, and a buzz of conversation had built up around them.

As they neared the gate, Arrietty heard an elderly couple wander past.

"Ah, you don't see such pretty _yukatas_ like that these days. Doesn't she look lovely, dear?"

The woman was met by a grunt of agreement from her husband. It made Arrietty feel more relaxed about her state of dress.

Shō and Arrietty walked into the shrine and, again, the brightness of the lights lit up the darkness in Arrietty's sight inching its way slowly towards the centre the brighter the light got. She tried to ignore it and was distracted by the mesh of smells of different things cooking. It was like organised chaos - sweet, salty and savoury all mixing together in one jumble of amazing smell.

"Shō, can we get something to eat? I can smell so many different things, they must be tasty!"

"Sure, we can try everything." Shō said, a big grin permeating his speech.

Arrietty was stuffed by the time they'd been around all the stalls. They had tried _takoyaki_ - big doughy balls filled with octopus and doused in a strange sweet-salty sauce, _okonomiyaki_ - griddled pancakes made of cabbage, and other ingredients, and sprinkled with a salty sauce, _yakisoba_ - peppery noodles that had been fried with seaweed and pieces of squid and _dango_ - soft, chewy dumplings that had been dipped in a sweet sugary substance.

It was all so delicious, but it reminded her of home, especially the _dango_. The pure sweetness of them reminded her of the shisho juice her mother used to make (at least when they could find sugar). If she were home, she would have been out searching for ingredients to make dinner - she now knew exactly where all the plants were that could add flavouring, she could now catch grasshoppers and make them into a soup. She could manage on her own as an outside borrower; she was becoming independent….

As that thought hit her, the pale haze that hit the edges of her sight suddenly burst into colours. She saw stalls all around her, smoke coming off grills and lights hanging from wires strewn between the stalls. She saw people everywhere, girls in colourful, patterned _yukatas_ (and some boys in black _yukatas_) wandering around, chatting, laughing, eating, playing on stalls. She looked down and saw her own yukata - it was violet, with light pink flowers adorning it, and a dark blue belt around her waist. Finally, she looked up and saw Shō staring at her. He looked tall, his hair longer than when she'd left, and he'd filled his frame - looking lean and slightly toned, rather than awkward and lanky. She couldn't' believe this was the first time she'd seen what he looked like since she'd been a borrower.

"What's wrong, Arrietty? What's happened?" Shō asked, worried.

"I can see, Shō. I don't know how, though. I was thinking about home, and borrowing, and then suddenly my sight came back." She was slightly scared, the worries from earlier, coming back to her.

Strangely enough, Shō was calm.

"Well, since you can see now, shall we go and enjoy some more of the shrine." He sounded a little sad, but he took her hand again and led her on, into the crowd.

**Don't forget to review guys (I shall smile immensly whenever I get one!), and I shall look forward to reading all those lovely new Arrietty fanfics on 8th April (as soon as Lent is over... :( i'm counting down!)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys, first off - so many apologies for how long it took for this to get online. It has been a crazy last week of uni (I was only able to write little bits of this over the past week or so), but I am on my Easter holiday now so, amid all the revision, I should be able to get my chapters out a little more regularly. I tried not to leave this one with not quite as bad a cliffhanger as the last chapter (woops…!). Anyways…read, enjoy, review :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 12:<strong>

Shō pulled Arrietty along as they walked down the main row of stalls. Everything she had sensed earlier, she could now see in vivid colour - the brightly coloured lanterns, the street sellers and their stands of food. The food didn't look as good as it had tasted, but that was neither here nor there. Pretty soon, they'd passed the food stalls and had reached a stand with loads of little wooden pegs. A row of toys at the back were staring out at them with glassy eyes. They looked odd, but Arrietty suddenly felt the urge to own one, **now**. It must have shown in her eyes, because next thing she knew, Shō was at the stall with a handful of rings. He seemed to be aiming them over the wooden pegs, so Arrietty assumed that this was the aim of the game. It wasn't long before he's managed to get two rings over some of the further away pegs, a look of concentration etched on his face.

After two more rings had landed on the hoops, Shō produced a small stuffed cat with a barely concealed flourish.

"Thank you, Shō!" she squealed, flinging her arms around him, "Umm…I'll call him Niya, just like the real thing, only I don't have to worry about him running off whenever he feels like it."

Shō laughed at that.

They walked further through the stalls until Shō spotted something, making them come to a halt.

"Arrietty, you want some _amezake_?"

Her face must have said everything, because Shō gave a small exasperated sigh and then explained.

"It's a sweet kind of non-alcoholic sake. It's sometimes hot and sometimes cold so I'm not sure which it will be. Want some?"

"Sure, the line's a bit long, so do you mind if I sit down for a bit?"

"Go ahead, but don't go running off again! Crows or not, I want to find you when I get back."

"I promise."

She wandered off towards a bench near the edge of the path. Behind it, she could see the woods where she and her _tou-san_ would be hiding until all the people had gone. They'd probably be in the big oak tree where they could hide in the knotholes or among the branches where the leaves provide cover from the humans and, more importantly, the nocturnal animals.

"Are you planning there, Arrietty?"

The female voice startled Arrietty, who turned round only to almost crash into the owner of the voice.

It was the Lendwitch.

She was almost unrecognisable with her long flowing hair pinned back (although, looking closely, the hair ornaments were made of small pieces of cutlery). Her thick glasses were gone, revealing her piercing eyes and she was wearing a kimono made of earthy greens and browns (like camouflage, Arrietty noted). The obi was the only piece of clothing that seemed to hold true to her quirky nature - it was made of different types of grass plaited together whose ends trailed down behind her, completing the camouflage effect.

"What are you doing here?"

Arrietty was more than surprised; she hadn't expected to see the Lendwitch again, let alone in the middle of a _Matsuri_ and the same size as a human.

"Well, my dear. I was coming to check up on how you're doing, how you're coping as a human. You must tell me all about it!"

Arrietty couldn't see the gleam in the Lendwitch's eyes. A look that said she knew more than she was letting on.

"Everything was going fine - we went to the Amusement Park a few days ago - but something strange happened today. Shō wanted us to come to the _matsuri_, so his Great Aunt Sadako lent me this _yukata_. We were having so much fun, and then, all of a sudden, I could see. Actually, it started before we left, there was some light edging into the darkness I could see but it completely came back little more than half an hour ago. What's going on?" she asked, worriedly.

The Lendwitch showed a knowing smile, her centuries of wisdom showing through her young features.

"You have started to accept you borrower nature, Arrietty. I know how much you wanted to be a human, but you are a borrower by birth and shall always be a borrower. You were probably thinking about your home, about borrowing. I'll bet you were planning how you could get supplies from the leftovers of this _matsuri_ before I turned up. You have a week until your father turns up, so make the most of the time you have with Shō."

Arrietty thought this would break her heart but, for some reason, she felt almost relieved. She was enjoying her time with Shō, it was the best fun she'd had in so long, but she was itching to start borrowing again. Wherever she walked, whatever objects she felt (or now saw), she would be thinking of what she could make with them. She wanted to be out searching for food for dinner, or for twigs for the fire, or just roaming the forest searching for adventure. She missed her family as much as she had missed Shō in the time when she had left to find their new home.

"Will this make me turn back into a borrower sooner?"

"No, dear, the conditions are still the same. I believe you have already kissed him once, but you have one more chance before you become a borrower again and the magic wears off. Make it count!"

The last sentence seemed to serve as a farewell before the Lendwitch promptly vanished into thin air. Arrietty glanced around to see if anyone had noticed, but they were all too distracted by the goings on of the _matsuri_ to see them.

After a few minutes of sitting on her bench, puzzling over what she had just been told, Shō reappeared with two cups of _amezake_ in his hands. They sat in silence, drinking the sweet _amezake_ Shō could obviously sense something was wrong, but he didn't say anything.

Over the silence was the buzz of people passing by, however, this was cut short by an announcement over the loudspeaker.

"Attention! Attention! The Firework Show will begin in 15 minutes. Make sure you find a good spot to see this year's fabulous fireworks!"

The announcer sounded far too enthusiastic for Arrietty, whose mood was less than cheerful and a little distracted with her thoughts, but she still felt a little happy when Shō stood up, took her hand and said "Let's go find a spot to watch the fireworks," ever so calmly.

They walked quietly over to where the fireworks were being held and found a spot near the edge of the woods where they could get a good view. Everyone who had been wandering around the shrine had now collected themselves into a huge mass of people in the open area set out for the fireworks. It was probably a good thing they were going to be in the sky!

The fireworks were being set to music and, as it started Shō pulled Arrietty towards him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned back into his chest and rested her head under his chin - she hated to admit it, but it was rather comfortable. She relaxed as the fireworks began - the sky-flowers exploding in shades of bright orange, sparkles of green and fizzles of gold and silver. They were so pretty! She'd never seen any before, because her hearing, as a borrower, would have been too sensitive for her to watch them. Now, she was grateful to be able to witness them in all their majesty.

As they continued, the people in front of Arrietty and Shō were oooh-ing and aaaaah-ing, and were so preoccupied that they missed Shō turning Arrietty's head and kissing her full on the mouth entirely. This wasn't the fragile, hesitant kiss that had occurred on the big wheel, this time Shō's kiss had an air of confidence about. It was no peck on the cheek either; Shō had turned Arrietty around and had pinned her against one of the trees behind them, so that they were shielded from the crowd.

The kiss lasted about as long as the fireworks did, Arrietty's heart fluttering around her ribcage so hard, she thought it would escape - what with the fireworks, and now this! She was just about to pull away, when she felt a tingling of a different kind. It started in her toes, and had worked its way up to her chest before she had time to pull away and whisper "Shō". As soon as the words left her lips, she had vanished.

Well, not completely, she had become a borrower again and was clinging onto a knothole in the side of the tree in front of a completely startled Shō.

"Shō," she cried out, "I'm here, in the tree! Help, Shō!"

She was lucky that he was facing the tree and not the fireworks, since the music was still playing and he wouldn't have been able to hear her over it. As it was, he could just see her, in her brightly coloured _yukata_ (which had mysteriously also shrunk) and he reached out a hand, picked her up and put her in his shirt pocket, before working his way through the crowd and running home.

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><p><strong>You know what to do! Let me know what you think of the turns of events (whether you like them or hate them) and any suggestions you think could add to the rest of the plotline (I will let you know what I think :) ).<strong>

**Thanks **_**minna-san**_**,**

_**worshipthehat**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Right, penultimate chapter guys! I sat out in the sun today working out what would happen in the last 2 chapters. Managed to get this one done and I shall have the last one up soon.**

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><p><strong>Please enjoy! (and review ofc ^_^)<strong>

**Chapter 13:**

Shō and Arrietty arrived back at the house with Shō's chest heaving - he'd run the whole way back and it couldn't have done him any good. As they walked in the front door, Sadako was sitting in the hall, waiting to greet them. Well, she was expecting to greet **two** young people as they walked in, not one.

"Where's Arrietty, Shō? Did something happen?" She asked, a hint of worry creeping into her, normally calm, voice.

"Ah, she got a call from home. She had to go back as soon as possible!"

It was a hastily made up lie but, as Arrietty could hear, it sounded plausible. It followed on from her story about her parents being out of town.

"Ah, well. I guess it can't be helped," Sadako replied, her voice back to being calm again, "It's late now, so you'd better be getting yourself off to bed."

Shō nodded, sedately and headed up the stairs. Sadako was none the wiser to the slight bulge in his shirt pocket.

It wasn't until Shō had reached the top of the stairs, turned into his room and shut the door did he carefully pull Arrietty out of his pocket and place her on the table holding the doll's house.

"Phew, that was a close one! I had to make up that story on the spot, but I think she bought it. Now, to the most important question: why are you 4 inches tall again?"

Arrietty had a simple answer for that one.

"The kiss broke the spell. I lied about it being only for a week; the condition of the spell was that I would be human until you gave me a kiss like you did earlier." She was no longer embarrassed about the concept of a kiss like that (especially after experiencing one).

"But….but…is this it then? Are you going to be a borrower forever now? Can't you use the same magic to become human again?" Shō asked, a little frantically. He was grasping at thin air - there was nothing that could change her back.

"Shō, this is it. This is me. I am a borrower, and no matter how much magic I use to change me into a human, I will always be a borrower. I guess that's what the Lendwitch was trying to tell me. I can't be what I'm not. I'm so sorry, Shō. I can stay here until _tou-san_ comes to pick me up in 2 days time."

"I guess so; we can still spend that time together," Shō sounded a little sad, not devastated, but a little sad, "I guess you'll be sleeping in the doll's house tonight, Arrietty….this is where we met that night. You and your father were trying to borrow a tissue, and you tried to hide behind it. I must have seemed so scary to you."

"Yeah, I know differently now. You're not scary because I know you. I think there are still people out there like Haru-san, she had it in for us…." A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about how event could have turned out if Haru-san had managed to turn her mother over to the exterminators. She didn't want to know, it was probably horrible. A much worse fate than living out in the woods…

Arrietty walked in the front door of the doll's house and found the beautiful bedroom she remembered seeing. She looked out of the window and said her goodnight to Shō before walking over to the bed, falling face-first onto its soft exterior and falling soundly asleep.

She was dreaming about a monstrous human, with the voice of Haru-san and the head of a crow. It was just about to start cutting down her home with an axe when a faint repetitive whine cut through in the background. It brought Arrietty back to the waking world where she heard loud voices in Shō's bedroom. She stayed stock still, afraid who it might be. She couldn't hear Shō, just some loud male voices and a siren; Sadako's voice was intermittent, alternatively crooning words of comfort to Shō and asking worried questions to the other voices in the room. They were coming closer to the doll's house, and then they were past it and out of the room. The last thing she heard was Shō making pained noises.

"Arrietty…..doll's house…..please."

Once the voices had gotten quieter, Arrietty began to breathe again, but then all of a sudden the roof was being pulled off the doll's house and a soft light fell into the room. She wasted no time in scrambling for the nearest hiding place - under the bed.

"Arrietty, Arrietty? Are you in here?" It was Sadako, "I presume, by what Shō managed to get out, that you haven't rushed home because your parents were back. You were the one living in this house all the time, weren't you?"

Arrietty poked her head out from under the bed and saw Sadako. She looked rumpled, as if she'd just got out of bed, and the lines around her eyes looked deeper - she had been worrying.

"There you are, my dear. Now, why don't you come with me? We've got to go to the hospital. Shō's heart played up a bit last night, and he's had to go to the hospital to get it checked over. Now, don't you worry, he's going to be just fine and we'll be there when he wakes up. Is that alright?"

She could only nod her head. She was in shock. It must have been from the run back from the temple earlier in the evening….or yesterday evening - she had no idea what the time was.

Sadako ran to go and get changed, then came back into Shō's room to collect up a few clothes and other bits he might need before picking up Arrietty and heading to the car. It was still dark outside, and there was hardly any traffic on the straight city roads that led to the hospital.

As soon as they got there, Arrietty jumped into Sadako's handbag and hid in the darkness while they entered the hospital. She heard the sounds of people talking in hushed tones and a strange, fake smell entered the air. She could see fluorescent lights streaking across the ceiling through the gap in the top of the handbag. The lights suddenly stopped moving - Sadako was asking which room Shō would be in when he was out of surgery. A kind reply was given and they began moving again. They were soon sat in a little room with a lonely looking bed in it (Arrietty was no sitting on Sadako's shoulder - she could hide in her scarf if anyone walked in the room). There was no conversation; they just sat there in silence waiting for Shō to come back from surgery.

**Don't forget minna-san review :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here you go, last chapter. You know the drill: read, enjoy and review :) Most importantly: ENJOY!**

**Chapter 14:**

Sadako was asleep, her head resting on her wrinkled hands - the worry lines lessening around her eyes. Shō lay on the white hospital bed, sleeping peacefully, his chest rhythmically moving up and down with each breath. Arrietty sat on the windowsill looking out at the world go by in the early morning light. Shō had got back from surgery earlier that morning and went straight to sleep - the doctors told them it had been the strain of running combined with an odd heart palpitation. Nothing that couldn't be sorted out quickly at the hospital, but it had given everyone a little shock when they had to rush him to hospital.

The little borrower was relieved that Shō was alright, but she was also worried about what would happen when her _tou-san_ came to get her. Would Shō be alright or would his heart play up again? She sat there thinking as the sun rose above the horizon, and way after the doctors had come to check on Shō (she had hidden behind the curtain when they had come in). Fed up of the view out of the window and the pressing worries, Arrietty decided she would explore the hospital a little, before Shō and Sadako woke up. An air vent, at the top of the wall by the door, provided her means of escape - she could wander through it at ease and had a perfect view from each opening she came too. Best of all, nobody could see her because of the angles of the grate.

At one of the openings she came to, Arrietty could see a wide corridor, lined with benches, and a foreboding door at the end marked operating theatre. There were no sounds in the corridor, as if noise had been forbidden, except for a foreign sounding whimpering coming from a girl crouched on one of the benches. She had flaming red hair, just like Arrietty's, and looked to be about Shō's age - although at the moment she sounded so young because of her saddened state.

Arrietty didn't know what to do, she certainly couldn't go and comfort the girl - someone the girl knew must be in surgery, she must just as worried as Arrietty and Sadako had been. Suddenly an idea hit her. She couldn't think of anyone better to see if she was alright and reassure her.

Running back along the air vent and dropping back into the room, Arrietty raced over to the bed to wake up Shō.

"Shō! Shō!" she shook his shoulder (roughly enough to wake him, but not so much that it hurt him), "Shō, I need your help! Wake up!"

"Unn….what is it, Arrietty?" he struggled to wake up quickly so as to understand what was troubling the borrower.

"There's a girl in the corridor, I think someone she knows is in surgery and she's really worried. She's crying and I can't help her, Shō. Can you? Please?"

In response, Shō stumbled out of the bed (Arrietty in his pocket) and left the room in search of the corridor Arrietty had seen. After a few turns, he'd found the entrance to the operating theatre and the still crying girl. She looked so sad that he could see why Arrietty wanted to help her.

"I'll go back to the room, so you can talk to her without worrying about hiding me," Arrietty whispered, crawling out of his pocket and sliding down the outside of Shō's hospital gown.

She ran back to the room, but instead of waiting there, she climbed back into the vent system and ran to where Shō and the girl were.

"…..okay? I'm Shō. My friend saw you were upset, so is there anything I can do to help?"

His voice carried through the vents and she heard him before she saw him.

"I'm just fine, thank you."

The girl was trying to be tough and defiant over the snuffling of her tears.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to slate you for crying. I came out of surgery last night so I was here to ease any worries you might have had. Who is it in surgery?" Shō asked calmly.

"It's my mama. She collapsed yesterday and they had to rush her to hospital. Will she be ok? It's just me and her, so I won't have anyone else and…and why am I telling you all this? I don't even know you!"

"I told you, I'm Shō. And you are?"

"I'm Kohana."

'_Little flower'….how appropriate…._thought Arrietty as she watched the conversation progress.

Shō had broken past the barrier the girl had built up and they were now laughing and talking together. They both looked happier than they did 10 minutes ago and, although she knew Shō was moving on, Arrietty was also happy.

"Looks like he's moving on, eh Arrietty?" said a familiar voice behind her.

She didn't turn around.

"He's happy and that's all that matters. He's found _someone_ he can be happy with, because he can't just live with his great Aunt forever, and I have to go back. It's like you said, no matter how much I want to be human, I will always be a borrower. Shō will always be a human, and he's found someone he can be a human with. I think they're going to be laughing and smiling together for some time, so it's my time to go. Can you help me?"

"I guess so," the Lendwitch said, a little begrudgingly, "You've given me a nice story to watch, so this one's on me."

"I just want to leave a note for Shō. Can't just go disappearing on him without saying goodbye."

"Very well, just let me know when you want to go home." The Lendwitch said, before vanishing.

Leaving the couple chatting and laughing in the corridor, Arrietty walked back along the vent a little slower than before, enjoying her last few minutes in the human world. When she got back to the room, Sadako was still asleep - she looked like she needed the sleep so Arrietty left her while she wrote her note, reminding her of the note she wrote only a week ago.

_Dear Shō,_

_It's time for me to go back home, but I know you're not going to be alone (it looks like you and Kohana are kicking it off just fine). I know you're going to be fine. Spending time with you as a human was the best thing I ever did and it helped me to realise what kind of life I really wanted. I hope it helped you, too. The only thing I have left to say is 'Goodbye'. So Shō, thank you and goodbye,_

_Arrietty_

She placed the note on the bedside table and then jumped onto the windowsill.

"Lendwitch, I'm ready to go home now."

"Ok, sweetie. Let's go."

Arrietty and the Lendwitch blinked out of the hospital room and were instantly back in the wood, in front of her family's home. She braced herself and then walked in the door, leaving the Lendwitch behind her.

"_Tou-san_, _Kaa-san_ I'm home."

**The End**

**Well folks, that's the end of "A Heartwish". I hope youz liked the ending, if not well meh. I hope you understand the reasons behind the ending, see if you can spot them ;)**

**I thoroughly enjoyed writing this fanfiction and I couldn't have done it without all you lovely readers and reviewers. You have been brilliant (you know who you are).**

***Deep bows* **_**domo arigatou gozaimasu**_


	15. A side note

**Judging by my first review for this chapter (and I trust you guys completely), I sense that people may not be happy with my ending to the story. I thought this might become the case when I was writing it. I just didn't want it to be beding the rules (if that makes sense), but I can see how it is a rather unsatifying ending. So I have devised a cunning plan! I have written an alternate ending to _A heartwish_. If you would like me to post it, just send me a quick message and I'll put it up as another chapter before I hit "complete". If you like the story how it is then write me a lovely review to let me know :)**  
><strong>Thanks guys, I trust your judgement!<strong>  
><em><strong>worshipthehat<strong>_


	16. Chapter 16

**Ok, ok spoilsports. Not letting me have my nice sensible ending. I suppose this is what fanfiction is for, bending the rules.**

**Here you go. See if you like this one better...**

**Alternate Ending:**

Sadako was asleep, her head resting on her wrinkled hands - the worry lines lessening around her eyes. Shō lay on the white hospital bed, sleeping peacefully, his chest rhythmically moving up and down with each breath. Arrietty sat on the windowsill looking out at the world go by in the early morning light. Shō had got back from surgery earlier that morning and went straight to sleep - the doctors told them it had been the strain of running combined with an odd heart palpitation. Nothing that couldn't be sorted out quickly at the hospital, but it had given everyone a little shock when they had to rush him to hospital.

The little borrower was relieved that Shō was alright, but she was also worried about what would happen when her _tou-san_ came to get her. Would Shō be alright or would his heart play up again? She sat there thinking as the sun rose above the horizon, and way after the doctors had come to check on Shō (she had hidden behind the curtain when they had come in).

She just didn't want to think about what could happen to Shō is she left him the way he was. Her resolve was set. She climbed out of the gap in the window and shimmied her way down the side of the drainpipe on the edge of the building. The early morning sun was lighting her way, as if it knew what she was planning on doing.

She reached the bottom with few problems and raced across the road towards the tallest tree she could see. She had no sticky tape with her this time, but the tree had plenty of branches close to the ground and plenty of knotholes and wrinkles in the bark for her to climb the tree with ease. She got to the top, hands bleeding and grazed, just as the sun had passed the horizon. It was just as it had happened little under a week ago. This time, the wish would be a little different.

"Why Arrietty, what a pleasant surprise. I hear Shō is in hospital, I hope everything is going to be ok before you go home."

The Lendwitch appeared much quicker than she had the first time. Arrietty sensed she wasn't far away when she was watching her latest magic borrower.

"I have a wish for you, Lendwitch. Except this time I don't want to borrow."

"Well, child. I must say that I am accustomed to hearing this, but I almost never follow through with it. Why on earth should I give you the power to become human when I have given you as much already?"

"Shō needs me; they say his heart palpitation was a minor, rare occurrence, but what is it happens again? Sadako is getting old and his mother doesn't seem to want to give him the time of day. What better reason could I have than keeping Shō alive?"

"I see your point, but it would require a _lot_ of magic to keep you as a human permanently, and, as you know, my magic requires you to give something up. I seem to remember it was your sight you gave up to become a human last time. What can you possibly give me this time?" the Lendwitch said agitatedly.

"Would my sight not suffice again? I would gladly give up my sight to help Shō, even though it would hinder me in my being with Shō." Said Arrietty, she was running out of ideas.

What could she possibly have that the Lendwitch would want?

"I cannot take the same thing from any one person twice, child. That is not how my magic works, although you do have something that I want. It isn't something that would hinder you in your time with Shō, it is merely the product of me being a vain old woman."

"What is it? I will give you anything you ask, just let me be human again."

Arrietty was getting desperate.

"Your hair, it is such a beautiful colour and I'm so bored with black. It's just so cliché…."

Arrietty's hands instantly went to her hair, hanging loosely down her back.

"Oh don't worry, child. I won't take it all from you, just most of it. I think you would look lovely with a pixie cut. Just like a fairy!"

The Lendwitch sounded delighted with her proposition. It seemed a fair trade, it would soon grow back. So Arrietty nodded her head in agreement. With one swish of her hand, Arrietty's hair was short, a cool breeze hitting the back of her neck. The Lendwitch's hair had gone from being dark ebony to the fiery red of Arrietty's hair. She held up a mirror for Arrietty to see the change - the cut seemed to show off her round cheeks and made her dark brown eyes stand out.

With another wave of her hand, Arrietty was suddenly at the bottom of the tree and was growing. She was lucky it was still early and there was nobody around to see a human pop up from nowhere. The Lendwitch had not followed her down from the tree, but Arrietty knew she was still watching. She started the walk back to the hospital room, wandering how long the shocked look would remain on the faces of Shō and Sadako.

**10 years later**

"Primrose, it's time to come inside and wash your hands for dinner." Arrietty called from the house.

A whine came from the 4 year old at the bottom of the garden.

"But _mama_! Grandpa Pod and Spiller were showing me how to catch a grasshopper!"

"No, Primrose. It's dinner time. _Tou-san_, Spiller, will you be joining us? _Kaa-san_ helped me make it, so it should be delicious. We've even set you guys places."

Pod hopped onto his granddaughter's shoulder, but Spiller had disappeared off into the undergrowth. No doubt he was going to find his own dinner. Arrietty didn't mind.

She and Shō had moved in Sadako's house when she had passed away a few years ago. It was no longer empty, since it now held 2 families of borrowers and a new (and growing) family of humans. Arrietty loved the house and she loved her family, she couldn't just run away from both so she had combined both. Luckily her parents hadn't taken it too badly and they doted on their two grandchildren - the four year old Primrose and the 18 month old Thorn (both named for their parents love of gardening). She wouldn't have had it any other way - her heartwish really had come true.


End file.
